Friday, February 20, 2009

The sustainability of wood

I love the feel and look of wood. Considering all the aspects of sustainability, what is the best wood to choose in the northwest and how is the best way to have it finished.

Ellen Clark
360-927-6743

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4 comments:

  1. AnonymousWednesday, February 25, 2009 at 5:35:00 PM PST

    Ellen,

    Not that I have an answer or opinion, regarding your question about wood - are you thinking interior or exterior?

    Lin Nelson

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  2. AnonymousWednesday, February 25, 2009 at 6:17:00 PM PST

    Thanks for asking Lin. I'm thinking furniture. While were at it how about beams, floors and cabinets?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Holly BarboThursday, February 26, 2009 at 5:05:00 PM PST

    When Ellen asked this question of me about which types of wood, in the Pacific Northwest, were the “green” options for making furniture. I didn’t just jump into the answer because the answer can be complex. (the finishing part of the question will be in a separate blog)

    There are many species of wood that grow here. Narrow down the list with questions like which species have been over cut (Pacific Yew), which take a long time to grow and tend to be bent and twisted or harvesting the tree gets into habitat destroying problems(Western Hemlock and Pacific Madrone) and which we have insufficient amounts of. What you are left with are: Douglas Fir, Red Alder, Big Leaf Maple and Western Red Cedar. Now ask if that type of wood is the best choice for furniture building. The Big Leaf Maple is a good hard wood. The other three are soft hardwoods and of those I would only consider the Alder.

    Though I understand the question was framed to be regional to keep the transportation cost down there is another way to look at the “which wood species” question. The Forest Stewardship Council is a terrific international organization that works to certify trees that are harvested responsibly and replanted. They look at habitat health and species that don’t grow in sufficient numbers to be harvested sustainably. So if the lumber used to make your furniture has the FSC logo (a tree with a check mark), no matter where it was grown, it is a good “green choice.

    Holly Barbo
    Barbo Furniture
    Bellingham, WA
    www.barbofurniture.com

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  4. AnonymousThursday, February 26, 2009 at 5:33:00 PM PST

    Well answered Holly, I will be looking for that FSC logo. I also love the look of maple, any kind of maple. Thank you for your fascinating explanation

    ReplyDelete

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